A Museum-Quality, Magnificent “Boulle” Bookcase

attributed to the French cabinet-maker BEFORT JEUNE (Befort the Younger) c. 1870/80, based on the work of master cabinet-makers NICOLAS SAGEOT and ANDRE CHARLES BOULLE, high quality double-body oakwood construction, with ebony and brown tortoiseshell veneer, canted angles, elaborate floral and openwork sheet brass intarsias (“première partie”), and magnificently cast bronze doré fittings in the form of satyr caryatids, mascarons with shell decoration and scrolled acanthus leaves, lower 2-door body with large bronze doré fittings in the form of mascarons on floral bronze manchettes on the feet, top with moulded cornice and 2 facetted glazed doors, adjustable shelves, c. 204 x 165 x 53 cm, in professionally restored condition. (DOC)
Exquisite workmanship of the highest quality.

The present item is subject to conservation legislation (ASA).

MATHIEU BÉFORT (1813-1880) ran a thriving business on Rue Neuve-Saint-Gilles 1 and 6 in Paris from 1844 to 1880. He was the son of Jean-Baptiste Béfort (1783-1840), a Belgian known for having furnished the rooms of the Duc d'Orléans (1640-1701, brother of King Louis XIV). His elder brother, Bernard Béfort, was active between 1836 and 1858 - from this time onwards Mathieu took over his business until 1878. He specialised in the production of so-called Boulle furniture and was particularly inspired by Boulle’s high-quality creations. In 1880, the company was taken over by the equally renowned cabinet-maker Joseph-Emmanuel ZWIENER.